Okay maybe im getting predictable but i decided to head off to the local park. On the first swing the batteries went. So far so good. I was hunting near the railings and was not getting clear signals. Time to test the discrimination. I put a few twists of discrim on and notched out foil. 2 minutes later, i find..... a ringpull. I turn up the discrim, grateful that i did when i hear the number of iron signals being blanked out. Next find... a 2p. Then another, then a toy lorry. Then another 2p. Then a 5p. A guy shouts over "found anything?"
"nahh, just a few coppers"
"Well you ought to be searching those fields over there, thats where Cromwells army camped"
"Nice"
"Aye i walk me dog over there all the time and ive found a few flint scrapers. I used to have one of those you know"
"Oh aye?"
"Yeah a Garrett 1000xx or summat, paid about a grand for it i did"
"find anything?"
"nahh, loadsa bloody horseshoes and nails, mate o mine once found a roman coin in those woods though" Ears perk up, i have permission to search 'those woods'
"There some ruins around here then? An old Stables?" Sorry chappie i gotta grill you now, the worms bitten the hook.
"yeah theres some in the woods there, near the old orchard" The old orchard which i walked through a few weeks ago whilst dogwalking? filed in memory for later use. See next week updates maybe?
Ive left out loads of irrelevant banter, we were chatting for a good 25 mins. But after talking to the bloke, i think a good search around the woods is in order next week. I hate woodland searching, loads of hassle and no rewards. Ill give it a go and post the results here.
Totals for the trips out:
2 x 2p, 1 x 5p, 1 x 1p, A toy lorry, an old buckle, a cats eye (middle of the road kind, what do you think i am, some kind of sicko?) and a few peices of coke can. The discrimination must be working because i pulled only 1 peice of iron junk.
I did a bit of research on Tuesday night into the stables the guy mentioned last week, I found a clearing on an aerial photo and decided to hunt there. The weather wasn't bad so I set off at noon. It's a bit of a hike past the park and into the woods to the clearing but I make it in good time. Signals are pretty thin on the ground, and rather than being a stables, I was to learn later I was hunting an old ironworks. Joy. After an hour or so of snagging my MD on the undergrowth and only junk to show for it I head to the stream for what you might call extreme metal detecting. I.e. hanging onto a tree, sweeping the MD over the river, finding only more junk.
Deciding to head back, I call in the park on the way back to the car. I've nearly got the discrim to a tee now so I was only digging high spectrum targets like foil and ring pulls. The first decent find is a 10 centimetre length of silver chain, broken at one end. Next, from the wonderfully manicured grass I get a "turn of the century button". I meet the guy I saw last week who IDs a couple of my finds for me. Or should I say meet his dog which scared the crap out of me. One minute i'm deep in a hole, the next im pushing fido off my face. The Park Rangers approach me - "got a licence?"
"Well yeah I have actually"
"Okay someone's been leaving holes in the park down the road and we're checking all gentlemen like yourselves."
"Look behind you, can you see any holes?"
"No, we were watching you, you've done a good job" I thank god I took the time to carefully patch every dig hole on the nice turf. In fact those are holes to be proud of, all you can see is a faint score mark and a slight mud stain. "Okay sir, no problem, carry on"
Not to be put off im searching where the ground is flattest and where I think the most likely place to have a marquee would be. This pays off with 2 pence, followed by my favourite a 1918 penny farthing. Enoughs enough, and its dropping dark so I head home.
The next day I planned on a quiet day in. Planned being the word. No sooner after id woke up I headed for a playing field ive never been to before. The field belongs to my old primary school which dates back to the late 19th Century. I get a few disapproving looks from the people trimming the hedges but nothing worse so I start at the side of the footie pitch. Don't want to upset the neighbours too much. Speaking of which�. to the bloke in the luminous jacket, watching me behind the bushes I CAN SEEEE YOUUU. I dig a few foil papers before unearthing ten pence. Then two pence. I must stress at this point I am freezing. I have no spare clothes, shoes batteries or gloves, the price you pay for spontaneity, but im only 2 miles from home so what the hell. I regret leaving the gloves when my hands lock around my spade, frozen solid. (If you could see the cold I have today - 18th you'd see the price you pay). Im hunting the area I vividly remember as the beanbag line when I unearth a 1930 penny although it is badly green crusted.
That was enough to send me home, wiping the mud off my hands onto my trouser legs, don't want to mucky the steering wheel. Shame about the car carpet though.
